Well, what I can say about Dream Theater is that they've got a lot of respect and a good following from people who really thoroughly enjoy music. That's all you can ask for and it's nice they won that metal tourney. They deserve it. Anyone who has studied music or understands music theory/composition knows full well that DT are the real deal. Enough said on that matter.

As for review status. I'm glad that here on PA it's a challenge and an honor to be recognized by your peers on this site. Personally, I don't know how administrators can keep track of who is doing what or how is one contributing constructively.
I've noticed some members here on PA got a 4star collab status with in 1 year! I say that is pretty amazing and it is dedication while using all the sites useful tools to contribute to the world of prog.
After all, it's up to us to form the best comprehensive prog database we can, so let's all work together on this and stop bitching who has more stars than others or wants another star. Let's just think of the love for prog itself. Above all, that is what's most important. We should all share our ideas and work together like we've been doing to keep PA#1!

But lets say, just for the sake of argument, that there are some sub genres that just plain suck.
Because you're insisting here that the only people who get
collab/reviewer status are people who like all styles, you're not really
getting experts now, are you. You're insisting on only getting people who have bad taste.

Wow,
you're on a site that is pretty much inclusive of a broad range of
Progressive rock tastes and this is your argument?Personally I'd
go for Sabbath & Motorhead ahead of pretty much anyone else in a
metal poll but I'm a more casual fan of the genre and don't have a broad
knowledge.

Oh let's not forget Rainbow. I think Rainbow Rising was the birth of Hard Rock. The first album was a bit too soft, but for 1974 it had a lot of character to it. Anyway. Great point Noggi. :)]]>
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 22:51:13 +0000http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=92936&PID=4826924#4826924http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=92936&PID=4757924#4757924
Author: JbirdSubject: 92936Posted: April 12 2013 at 07:48

Hmm, German beer pub prog.

Guitars, bass, keys, drums, & accordions?

Back to the Metal Madness tournament, Images & Words was my favorite album of all the ones they had, and I love MoP and RIP. The best album won, imo.

Having been granted the Prog Reviewer status without ever having asked for it and hearing your laments I can only feel a bit of pity for you. I do have the Reviewer status and I use it so little that I wonder if I really deserve it, you on the other hand are (or was) hungry to get it and you did not. It might seem like a very unfair situation from your point of view.

I will never say that I deserved getting the Reviewer status but OK, they offered it, I initially hesitated and I told PA that I thought I was not worthy of it and that I was not the kind of person that would write lots of reviews. They answered me, 'we don't expect you to write any particular number of reviews per x time, you review if you want to and you don't review if you don't want to'. After a couple of exchanged messages assuring me that I was not incurring into any obligations I accepted.

It's not by asking and whining that you get something, often it's all the opposite. PA is just an entertainment hobby for us but this is a message applicable to much more important things in life. Ambition is not a bad thing per se, but all too often if you act in an openly ambitious or arrogant way ('hey look at my credentials and tell me if I'm not a top Prog Metal expert') the others will not like it. Being determined but always humble, and simply showing your strengths by facts instead of claiming them by your own words tends to work much better.

As for the ratings weighting system, I don't get your approach, it's what it is, the owner and Admins of the site decide it, you may criticise it in a civilised and polite way, but don't mix it with your ranting for not having been granted the Reviewer status.

The one problem I see with being an "expert' in one subgenre, such as prog metal, is it can cause one to overrate bands/albums in that area, while underrating bands/albums in other areas, like a prog metal fan not liking prog rock stuff as much strictly because he prefers metal and he feels the rock stuff isn't ballsy enough for him. Granted, we all have preferences and likings and whatnot, so that is gonna come across with pretty much all of us, but I guess I can see wanting collaborators who are more well-rounded, as they are able to have a bit more perspective across subgenres. In other words, loving 5 albums in four different subgenres is more impressive than loving 20 albums in a single one. Diversity is the spice of life!

Let's say one of the sub-genres on this site was something that really no one listens to any more - like german beer pub songs. By only allowing in people who represent sub-genres like this, you bring this sub-genre more into the forefront than it should be - over representing it. I'm talking about this site representing other perspectives. Represent the people who are experts in this sub, and that one, and ones who like these two subs but not others, and just that one, and then you have a more balances approach. But by insisting "you can't be part of this club unless you meet MY requirements" you are misrepresenting how things actually are, and the 20x weighting adds to that problem. That's what I'm talking about - anyone who has an interest in being a reviewer or collab should be able to get in as long as they prove they aren't some bot, prove they are making an effort to write decent reviews, and as long as they remain civil. If someone starts posting things that are rude in their reviews then you remove their reviewer status. But there shouldn't be this requirement that a person represent a certain array of genres - you're skewing things that way. You're insisting that other people be like the people who are already in power. Like I said - if the only people who vote for congress members are congress members, the Republican party, which has gone crazy, would eventually be 100% of Congress.]]>
Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:50:58 +0000http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=92936&PID=4757906#4757906http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=92936&PID=4757613#4757613
Author: Nogbad_The_BadSubject: 92936Posted: April 11 2013 at 16:40

dtguitarfan wrote:

But lets say, just for the sake of argument, that there are some sub genres that just plain suck. Because you're insisting here that the only people who get collab/reviewer status are people who like all styles, you're not really getting experts now, are you. You're insisting on only getting people who have bad taste.

Wow, you're on a site that is pretty much inclusive of a broad range of Progressive rock tastes and this is your argument?

Personally I'd go for Sabbath & Motorhead ahead of pretty much anyone else in a metal poll but I'm a more casual fan of the genre and don't have a broad knowledge.]]>
Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:40:44 +0000http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=92936&PID=4757613#4757613